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Marshall Quatrevaux
Marshall Quatrevaux is the lead psychiatrist at the Jung Facility, and currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his girlfriend and supervisor, Jessica Conelly. A powerful Special, he has struggled to keep his abilities under control. Personality Generally, Marshall is very laid-back and pleasant. Raised a Catholic, his beliefs and morals loosely follow those of that faith. He prefers to take things in stride, and is comfortable leaving any necessary planning to others. He does not like being the center of attention. While he is usually very sociable, he is also very softspoken, and is more inclined to listen than talk. However, he can be forward, outspoken, and forceful when a situation requires it. Disciplined and dedicated, he can always be relied on to fulfill a promise and do his job well. He does become angry or upset at times, though there are a very few things that can trigger these moods in him. In such a state, he becomes far less stable. Depending on the problem, he might fall silent and sullen, and choose to keep everything inside; or he might lash out, perhaps violently. He knows better than to react so harshly, but it is part of his nature to do so, and it is becoming more and more difficult for him to fight that instinct. It is also part of his nature to shy away from any form of commitment that might cause him emotional pain in the future. As a result, his relationships were rocky, and he had trouble being faithful - until he met Jessica Conelly. The qualities he values are reflected in her, such as strength, logic, resourcefulness, and empathy. With her, he is caring and gentle, and despite anything else that might provoke him, he would never harm her. His love for her keeps him grounded, and is probably the only link keeping him from slipping into madness. While he had once been reluctant to allow himself to grow attached to anyone, Marshall has actually uncovered within himself the unusual ability to love deeply. He can give of himself infinitely and unconditionally, for no other reason than the happiness doing so brings him. Unfortunately, allowing himself to be this deeply vulnerable, despite the joy and contentment it can bring, also opens him up to be wounded just as deeply, the result of which would be a sorrow and dementia equally as profound. There is a quiet, obsessive, monomaniacal, and bitter facet of Marshall's mind, one that, since his stint as a mental patient, has been little more than a whisper. It is occasionally stirred by negative events. In such a condition, Marshall is neither unpleasant nor violent - to others. He simply keeps to himself, and only seems a bit more introverted than his usual self, but he also has a tendency to cause himself harm and revel in his own pain, the physical sort. It hurts less than the emotional pain. Appearance At 5'11" and 160 pounds, Marshall is tall but not overly imposing. His shoulders are broad, his body is well-toned and muscular, and he prides himself on staying in shape. His skin is naturally lightly tanned, a result of having grown up on a beach. His eyes are blue and expressive, set in a long, angular face. He usually keeps his face clean-shaven, and his blond hair cut short. He most often wears dress shirts and slacks, especially at work, but also wears polo shirts and khakis at times. He only owns a few pairs of jeans, which are typically worn only during yard work or fishing expeditions. There is no particular color or shade that he wears most often, though at work he generally sticks to the classic black, white, or blue. Occasionally, he wears contacts or black glasses. History Marshall was born and raised on Grand Isle, a small town on a barrier island due south of New Orleans, Louisiana. His parents owned a marina that was popular with tourists, but made most of their money through commercial fishing, as they supplied many famous New Orleans restaurants with high-quality seafood. The family lived comfortably, saving most of their money rather than spending it on extravagant items. Many years of being pummeled by hurricanes had taught the Quatrevauxes that not even the most lavish home was permanent. For years, the family consisted of the two parents, their older son, Wesley, and their younger son, Lauren, who began to use the name Marshall as a preteen to avoid being confused with his father. A daughter, Angela, joined the household when Marshall was around ten years old. Taking care of a baby sister was an interesting experience for Marshall, one he adapted to quite well. He and his sister became very close, closer than either of them were to their older brother. Marshall did exceptionally well in school, despite exhibiting very poor study habits. Learning just came naturally to him; even without studying, he earned high grades in all of his classes throughout his school career. Even as a child, he was laid-back and unassuming; this came in handy when he began to exhibit his ability, at the age of nine. Fortunately, his mother was also a special, and was able to help Marshall understand and accept his new power. He had slowly begun to discover that odd changes happened around him, such as room temperatures rising or electronics shorting around him. He was not sure what it all meant, or how these incidents were connected, but he did figure out that he was causing them with his mind, and eventually, he learned to control the incidents and keep them from happening. Occasionally, he practiced and experimented with his ability. This included a run-in with a stray cat that young Marshall found lurking around the marina. It was through this innocent grey tabby that Marshall learned how much damage his ability cold do- namely, reducing a body to debris and particles. Following that, Marshall became very wary of his power, and also of cats, who all seemed to harbor some sort of distaste for him. Not until high school did Marshall finally learn the science behind his ability. The physical property he was manipulating was known as "entropy," or the amount of disorganization in a thermodynamic system. He could alter the amount of energy that was available or unavailable to the system, whether the "system" was a room, an electronic device, a glass of water, or even a human body. He began to study thermodynamics more closely, and gained a much better understanding of the the way his ability worked and why it was limited in various respects. This interest in thermodynamics lasted through the rest of his secondary education days and into his college years. After graduating from high school, Marshall was accepted to Tulane University in New Orleans, where he began to study chemistry. However, a few problems began to occur during his first couple of college years, which culminated in a drastic change in his career path. Being so far from home gave him a new sense of freedom, one that he quickly began to abuse. He began drinking and smoking marijuana excessively, and became a notorious womanizer, engaging in one-night stands regularly. Meanwhile, his underdeveloped study habits failed him, and he relied on his natural talents to get him through his classes. His grades plummeted as he barely passed his classes, and his mood plummeted as well, spiraling into a deep depression fueled by feelings of guilt and worthlessness. He made a few attempts at suicide, all of which were intercepted by one friend or another. Finally, a friend informed Marshall's mother of what was happening. Concerned, Marshall's mother had him referred to a psychiatrist, who committed Marshall to a mental health hospital called River's Edge, where Marshall was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, clinical depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. He was prescribed Ritalin for the ADHD, and began to take counseling as well. Gradually, Marshall was able to raise his grades, but decided to change his chemistry major to a minor and major in psychology instead. Meanwhile, he learned to manage his time better, and gave up his drinking and partying lifestyle, mostly because it seemed to bother his family so much. Also, when Ritalin proved too weak a psychostimulant for Marshall, he was switched to Adderall, which helped him concentrate and focus for much longer periods of time, though it also caused him serious side effects such as dizziness, lack of appetite, and headaches. He graduated with good enough grades and credentials to be accepted into Tulane's medical school, where he completed his residency. After earning his medical degree, he was hired as a psychiatrist and therapist at River's Edge, where he remained for several years as an adult psychiatry specialist. While the work was generally satisfying, he occasionally came across patients whose main problems stemmed from a misunderstanding or misuse of their abilities, and was frustrated when the hospital could not accommodate their problems. Therefore, in the aftermath of April Fourth, when Marshall first heard about the Jung Facility, he quickly decided that he could be of more use in an environment tailored to fellow specials, and applied for a position there. The facility was all the way in Los Angeles, which would be a change for him. Though they did not mention it, he knew his parents were concerned that, being so far from home and unrestrained by his family, he would fall back into his old habits. Marshall, on the other hand, was not worried; he had been in control of his "less admirable" tendencies for the past fifteen-or-so years. To his credit, he did well for most of a year. Despite making a poor initial impression on his supervisor, Jessica Conelly, the two began to get along and developed a friendship that grew into a romance. They officially began dating in late August 2010, and by the next spring, Marshall found himself falling in love for the first time. It should have been a happy occasion, and it was, but the shadow of Jessica's abusive ex-boyfriend cast an unwanted gloom over their relationship. Jake Carson had returned to reclaim the woman he viewed as his, and his threats to her began to test Marshall's patience. Meanwhile, both of Marshall's siblings had married, and his parents were beginning to sort out inheritance matters. To his family's surprise, Marshall ignored all of it. Excepting his period of depression, Marshall had always been involved in the family's proceedings. But between the changes at Jung and the threatened safety of the woman he loved, Marshall's priorities had seen a definite shift. Abilities Entropy Manipulation Entropy is a measure of the energy in a system that is unavailable to do work. A system is a group of bodies (molecules, atoms, cells) that are related and bound by a common set of characteristics, such as a glass of ice water, a room, or the universe. Marshall can increase and decrease entropy in almost any system through sheer force of will. Since entropy is everywhere, this ability has a number of uses. Marshall can freeze or heat substances, stop electric currents or cause shorts, and even undo the energy bonds that hold molecules together. In living organisms, this ability's effects can range between feelings of tiredness and complete disintegration, depending on how much Marshall raises or lowers the organism's entropy. At maximum entropy, a system will be unable to sustain motion or life. An inherent part of this ability is Marshall's perception of energy levels, as he could not know how much he could raise or lower entropy unless he knew how much entropy and energy was present in the system. It's like another sense to him. As most people can smell and hear, Marshall can also detect the presence and extent of energy in his surroundings. He cannot "see" the energy levels, but simply knows them, as one recognizes the smell of a freshly baked apple pie. This sense is not automatic, however; he has to have his ability activated in order for it to work. When it is, he picks up on all energy sources around him, including the energy contained in human bodies and other organisms. This means he would be able to find anyone in his vicinity, even if it were a Special cloaked by an ability such as invisibility or illusions. He can also tell when a person has an unusually high or low level of energy, which can differentiate some Specials from civilians. Marshall has been able to do all of this since he manifested, and has honed these aspects of his ability with practice over time. The major limit to this power is science itself. Marshall is bound by its laws and its nature. For example, no matter how hard he tries, he will never be able to freeze a glass of water by increasing its entropy. He can also manipulate entropy only so long as there is entropy in his environment; theoretically, if he were placed in a system of extremely low entropy, he would be quite powerless. As mentioned above, Marshall can manipulate the entropy of almost any system. The one he can't is the overall universe. Marshall cannot affect the entropy levels of the universe itself in any way, and he cannot derive energy from it either. Any system within the universe, however, is fair game. While Marshall could alter a system (such as a room) to have too much or too little entropy, he cannot use entropy to create force fields, concussive beams, or other applications of energy. By definition, entropy is a quantity of energy that is unavailable for work. Negentropy Manipulation Negentropy, derived from the term "negative entropy," is not the inverse of entropy, despite its name. It is a quantity of energy that is present in living organisms. Living systems import negentropy and store it, then release it to keep their entropy levels low. (As in all systems, organisms tend toward increasing entropy, which would lead to a much faster loss of useful energy.) There are several, slightly varied definitions of negentropy; Erwin Schrödinger's definition is the one that is applied here. It can be illustrated most simply as "stored, mobilizable energy." In addition to warding off entropy, Marshall can store excess negentropy and apply it in various ways that are similar to ergokinesis, except, instead of the entire spectrum of energy, Marshall can only manipulate negentropy in this manner. The first way is through concussive blasts, which must be directed through the palms of his hands. These blasts can push someone physically, and leaves a bit of a singe, but cannot incinerate anything completely. The second way is through energy-propelled flight. Additionally, any excess negentropy he stores can either be used later, or can be applied to temporarily increase his endurance. The length, strength, and effectiveness of these aspects are directly proportional to the amount of excess negentropy Marshall has stored. To gain excess negentropy, Marshall must absorb it from his environment, and the simplest way to do this is by importing it directly from other living creatures. Unless Marshall robs the organism of all of its negentropy at once, this will generally not harm the organism too much. However, should Marshall choose to, he can cause the death of any living organism in this manner. Theoretically, this ability could slow Marshall's aging, or that of anyone else, at least temporarily. Marshall would simply have to keep his negentropy levels fairly high to stem the effects of entropy, as aging is largely a process of losing energy among one's cells. This is not a passive feature of the ability, however; Marshall would have to purposely try to keep himself young. Marshall's flight range depends on the amount of excess negentropy he has stored. Also, he cannot fly any higher than the atmosphere will allow without affecting his breathing. Similarly, he can only create concussive blasts for as long as he has excess negentropy stored. While this ability could extend Marshall's life if he applied it that way, it would not grant him immortality, nor immunity or imperviousness to harm. Due to the nature of both his abilities, energy attacks have reduced efficiency on him, but can still do damage in the right conditions. The most important limit to this ability will be most obvious at its manifestation. At first, Marshall will be unable to control his own negentropy levels, and will constantly have to monitor himself. Eventually his body will adjust and begin to do this automatically again, as everyone else's does, but depending on his negentropy levels at the time, negating him runs the risk of accelerating the aging process and killing him, since until his body makes that adjustment, it will be unable to import negentropy on its own. Current activities In June, Marshall was hired by the Jung Facility, and has been working there since. His clients, both inpatient and outpatient, have included Bart Crugar, Trevor Perry, and Inaki Soler, as well as Samantha Kroner, who he grew quite close to and is now fairly protective of. Also, at the request of Shawn and Rayleigh Johessman, he is also counseling Dakari Johessman. Despite getting off to a bad start with his supervisor, Dr. Jessica Conelly, he has since developed a close relationship with her, and the two are now dating. They have mostly kept this from their coworkers at Jung, though they have each acted for dates for the other at Jessica's sister's wedding and Marshall's college reunion. Their first official date was on 27 August 2010. As of mid-August 2011, they continue to see each other; Jessica now resides with Marshall, as her apartment was set on fire by her abusive ex-boyfriend, Jake Carson, who has made other efforts to split the pair and reclaim Jessica. Directly following the enactment of the Registration Act, the Jung Facility decided, somewhat against the legislation, not to force any of their patients to register. This has not yet caused any problems for the facility, or for Marshall, who also remains unregistered. Just before Thanksgiving 2010, Marshall was involved in a car accident while driving Dakari Johessman to the airport. He suffered a broken foot, a concussion, and whiplash. Dakari suffered similar injuries, but more severe, and was in a coma for some time. In April 2011, then-recent hire Khalidah Rahal began an initiative that would position Jung as a crisis response organization as relations between civilians and specials - and within those groups - continue to flare. Marshall and Khalidah butted heads when Khalidah's daughter, Felicia, and her acquaintance Devon Ridgeman started a fight in the Facility's garden that ended with Devon briefly unconscious (Felicia's work), Felicia unresponsive (Khalidah's doing), and part of the garden destroyed (Marshall's fault). Facts of interest Marshall suffers from ADHD and depends on Adderall to get him through the day. He also suffers from hypersomnia and generalized anxiety disorder. Marshall's IQ is 135. As a teenager, Marshall once tested the limits of his ability on a stray kitten. The kitten died, and Marshall now has a tendency to avoid cats. This has not gone well, as Jessica's orange tabby, a mean mofo named Munchkin, has resided with them since Jessica's apartment fire. Following Hurricane Katrina, Marshall worked with a relief crew and was one of the first civilians allowed back into the city. He lived in a makeshift shelter, as his apartment was taped off for security reasons, and he was unable to access Grand Isle and his home on the island was destroyed in any case. He owns a small sailboat, a Catalina 309 named Rorschach. His first boat, Comtesse, sank following Hurricane Katrina. Marshall is an excellent cook. His favorite dish is chicken parmesan. He is an excellent swimmer and surfer (despite having grown up in an area not known for its surfing - family beach and boating vacations were frequent). A talented singer, Marshall has performed in several operas, including Don Giovanni, Othello, and Macbeth. He and his family aided in the initial cleanup of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. His nicknames include "Dr. Q.," "Marshmallow," and "Q-Tip." He suffers from mild nearsightedness and occasionally wears glasses. He kicks ass at karaoke. Category:Characters Category:Neutral Category:Jung Facility Category:Villain